Too often when my students can’t express a word or thought in English, they simply revert to their own native language to find the right term. Sure, this is a lot easier and quicker, but it doesn’t necessarily help the learning process. The fact that their teacher understands them makes it all the more comfortable. (As a teacher, there are pros and cons to speaking, or understanding your students’ native language...but I’ll leave that for another post).
So how do we get them to stop doing that? I usually encourage my students to scribble in their notepads as many synonyms as possible to describe the thought or word they're looking for. As they write they are encouraged to speak the words out loud. Only after the student shows that he has been able to communicate his thought, other students may offer the correct word, if stll needed.
Surprisingly, help is often not necessary since the student either finds the term on his own, or he/she is satisfied with the replacement synonym. With time, these synonyms form a personal sort of dictionary that is a very useful reference tool for the student. The process I use is a bit mechanical, but it does become automatic after some practice. This requires mental work along with the sustained practice within conversation.
Conceptualizing the context and describing it, is much more effective than stopping to find the one correct term needed to express oneself. Therefore, my students are encouraged to keep on talking and describing until we all get the picture. Of course, this takes a bit more time, but it helps to further develop the learning process. Other students get involved and they learn as they expand their own language repertoire. At the end, everyone realizes that there is more than just one specific way to express a thought. And, ultimately, there's a lot of satisfaction, as well as increased self-confidence in knowing that you got your message across.
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9 comments:
I think this sounds like a great idea. I understand that it must seem a bit awkward to the student at first, but what a great resource it must grow into. I also like the opportunity for collaborative learning.
Hi BookChook- Collaborating to learn is definitely an excellent method for students to learn 'outside the box'. Different terms, methods to decode, ideas...are all presented and are there for students to experience on the spot. It's very effective. Thanks.
Hi Friend.. Interesting post.. Nice blog.. Keep up the good work.. Will drop by your site often.. Do find time to visit my blog and post your comments.. Take care mate.. Cheers!!!
Thank you for visitng and for your comment, Ocean.
Hi Ms Lucy,
Thanks a lot for another interesting post about English teaching. I couldn't agree with you more when you say "Conceptualizing the context and describing it, is much more effective than stopping to find the one correct term needed to express oneself". Besides, it is the way a person learns when he goes to a foreign country. When you don't know a word in the foreign language you are learning and you ask a native person who doesn't speak your language either, to communicate you use mimic, pictures or definitions.
Yes I agree with you totally Imma! It is a much more natural way of learning. Thank you for your interesting comment:)
You are always right, good post. I miss you:(
Thank you RAR:)
when learners can't find words to keep the flow of their message going through, they resort naturally to communication strategies which include among other things:
1. paraphrasing,
2. gestures and mimicry
3. circumlocution
4. repitition
5. etc
The aim of these techniques is to avoid the interuption of the flow of conversation.
conceptualizing the term and explaining it may be a kind of paraphrasing or circumlocution. It would be a great idea as you mentioned it to encourage students to continue the flow of the conversation whatever might happen making use of all these techniques.
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